Philadelphia 76ers: Bynum contradicting himself on return

PHILADELPHIA — Like the questions about his knees, Andrew Bynum can’t seem to avoid the pain those joints are causing. Then, Tuesday, he was asked about his debut.

“I’ll definitely be back,” Bynum said, “some time this year.”

Not exactly oozing of clarity, is it?

Bynum, who has missed all of the Sixers’ 51 games, said he’s still at least one to two weeks away from practicing with someone other than himself. That means the injured center, who had said he was targeting the games immediately following the All-Star break as a likely slice in the schedule to return to the court, is pushing back his timetable once again.

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For the record — The Sixers’ losing mark, his pending free-agent status and the fans’ frustration levels with him will not dictate how soon he returns, Bynum said.

“I don’t think anyone’s more upset than myself. I have the most to lose by not playing,” said Bynum, who’s making $16.5 million in the final year of his contract. “I want to get back. I really (couldn’t) care less — people are going to support me when I’m doing well and (aren’t happy) when I’m not playing. That’s just the business that I’m in.

“No fan can say they’re more frustrated than me.”

Bynum said he has an appointment scheduled today with Jonathan Glashow, the orthopaedic surgeon at New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center who performed season-ending surgery on the Sixers’ Jason Richardson. He’s not sure what Glashow will find, or what the surgeon will tell Bynum.

Ultimately, Bynum said, playing for the Sixers will come down to his desire to fight through pain caused by his left knee.

“I think it’s just dealing with it, to be honest,” he said. “Without any type of intervention, any type of surgery, I think you just have to deal with it.”

Sixers coach Doug Collins, who learned to cope with a pair of broken feet during his playing career, understands the challenge in front of Bynum.

“You sort of learn you have to. That’s the way it is,” Collins said. “He knows, at some point in time, he’s going to have to play through pain.”

Shutting it down for the remainder of the season, Bynum said, is not an option. He said he’d rather determine what degree of pain he can play through. Whatever he’s suffering from didn’t keep him from an intense, 80-minute workout Tuesday, but it’s been enough to keep him from attempting 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 scrimmages.

“I don’t know if I can play without pain,” Bynum said, “but I’ll play with a considerable amount.”

Last month, Bynum said he anticipated he’d be available to play for the Sixers after the All-Star break. Tuesday, he made it sound as though he won’t be back at least for another two weeks.

The good news was that Bynum’s workout Tuesday was basketball-only activity that included defensive slides and running with associate head coach Michael Curry. The bad news — he’s not sure when that will translate into moving away from 1-on-0 workouts and toward contact drills. Bynum said he’s still attempting to “grind up” the cartilage in his left knee that’s causing pain.

The Sixers’ frontcourt could use Bynum, especially with forward Thaddeus Young out at least until the end of this week. Considering the club, which is in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, will play 19 of its remaining 31 games on the road, the Sixers’ playoff odds without Bynum are long.

“It’s going to be tough,” Collins said. “Have you seen who we’re playing?”

Bynum has been as creative in crafting his injury retorts as developing his hairdos. Tuesday, with a half-Afro, half-cornrow look, Bynum contradicted himself. He said he understands he’ll have to play through pain, but also said he’d like to be pain-free before returning.

“I definitely can hurt it more by playing (prematurely),” Bynum said.

But if Bynum can’t return, and if he has to be shut down, and if he never plays for the team that traded for him...

“These are all such speculative things,” Collins said. “You asked me three ‘if’ questions. I can’t answer that. That’s up to the owners, up to (Bynum). I don’t make those kinds of decisions. We haven’t asked one basketball question yet.”

Added Bynum: “I don’t do risk assessment.”

•••

Jason Richardson underwent successful surgery on his left knee Tuesday, the team said in a statement.

Jonathan Glashow, of Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York, performed the procedure, which repaired an articular cartilage lesion on the medial femoral condyle in Richardson’s left knee.

Richardson will require nine to 12 months of rehabilitation before returning.